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Metal Gear Online Is Dead
Launching back in 2008 with Metal Gear Solid 4, Metal Gear Online, the online Metal Gear spin-off, had 1.3 million members at one point in 2009. This summer, Metal Gear Online is going offline. The game’s service is finished, Konami stated today. On June 21, the MGO‘s in-game client will come to an end. But…
By Brian Ashcraft Published February 14, 2012 - Uncategorized
Masters of Their Domains
Binary | TOKYO, JAPAN: Via tipster Jinah comes these photos. (Photo: Game Watch) Active Duty Marine is Making a Video Game About Zombies Zombies, man. Everyone loves killing zombies. 22 year-old Marine Sergeant Jacob Way is betting that video game players love killing zombies enough to make room in their libraries for one more zombie-slaying…
By Mike Fahey Published February 14, 2012 - Kotaku East
This Chocolate Isn’t Painful. It’s Sweet and Dorky.
You know “itasha”, right? It means “painmobile” and refers to cars covered in nerdy stickers. These days, everything that has been covered with nerdy imagery—from Shinto plaques to bicycles—seems to get the “ita” label in Japan. Heck, there are even “itachoco” this Valentine’s Day. I guess a literal translation would be “painful chocolate”. Check out…
By Brian Ashcraft Published February 14, 2012 -
Kotaku EastPlaying With Gravity. Seven Minutes of Gravity Rush Gameplay.
Gravity Rush (Gavity Daze in Japan) is one of Sony’s most anticipated titles for the Vita in the West. The entire game is built around manipulating your own personal gravity as you adventure through a floating city in a mysterious steampunk world. We’ll be posting our hands-on impressions of the Japanese release on Kotaku East…
By Richard Eisenbeis Published February 14, 2012 - Kotaku East
A Valentine’s Day Contrast Worth a Thousand Nerds
Today, love simulator New Love Plus went on sale. Today is also Valentine’s Day. A photographer at Japanese game site 4Gamer snapped this photo, which seems to show a young couple passing by the Love Plus Akihabara launch, which is populated with dudes. Online in Japan, commenters are saying that the couple is probably wondering…
By Brian Ashcraft Published February 14, 2012 - Kotaku East
I Didn’t Get Any Chocolate Today. Did You?
Instead, I got apple pie. Mrs. Bashcraft, my wife, made apple pie for the kids and me. This is it! Actually, this isn’t mine. While the kids got their apple pie in nice little bags, I got mine in a Ziploc bag. Apparently, we are out of nice little bags, but have tons of Ziploc…
By Brian Ashcraft Published February 14, 2012 -
Kotaku EastNorth Korean Clams Cooked with GASOLINE
While North Korean hamburgers look (and sound) awful, North Korean gasoline-baked clams also sound pretty friggin’ awful. They’re not, according to Japanese site RocketNews24. A Japanese traveler who recently visited the country and tried the dish said they’re actually pretty good—and don’t even taste like gasoline. While Kotaku East does not recommend playing with gasoline…
By Brian Ashcraft Published February 14, 2012 -
Kotaku EastLowest. Score. Ever. (In Super Mario World)
Everyone’s heard about high score runs, but how about the opposite? In this video, NicoNico Douga user Haru@Yotsuba sets out to get the lowest possible score in Super Mario World on the SNES. Mario World becomes a very different game in this challenge, where killing Koopa Troopa or breaking a brick is the same as…
By Richard Eisenbeis Published February 14, 2012 - Kotaku East
Super Cars? Super Cute, Super Cool, and Super Geeky.
At this weekend’s Wonder Festival in Chiba, Japan, collectible figures and cosplayers weren’t the only thing on display. There were also super cars—and race queens. The Neon Genesis Evangelion racing team (yes, there’s an Eva racing team!) was on hand, showing of its Super GT cars and bikes. The Eva team’s “race queens”, dressing as…
By Brian Ashcraft Published February 14, 2012 - Kotaku East
iPads Yanked only from Some Chinese Stores. Still Available in Shanghai and Beijing.
Yesterday, a report surfaced that after Apple lost a lawsuit over the term “iPad” in China, the tablet was getting pulled from the country’s shops. Via sister site Gizmodo, the news was that the Chinese Administrations of Industry and Commerce was seizing iPads. Officials at Shijiazhuang Industrial and Commercial Administrative Bureau, however, were confiscating the…
By Brian Ashcraft Published February 14, 2012 -
ReviewsAce Attorney Is the Best Video Game Movie Ever (Take That, Hollywood!)
Gyakuten Saiban—the movie based on Capcom’s visual novel series, Ace Attorney—was released in Japan to sold-out theaters this past weekend. Staying closer to the source material than any video game movie before it, does this film prove that games can successfully be adapted into movies or does it reiterate the idea that games and movies…
By Richard Eisenbeis Published February 14, 2012 -
Kotaku EastLittle Deviants Is a Game You Will Never Play in Public
Vita launch title Little Deviants is a portable game on a portable system. But some mini-games in this collection aren’t exactly suitable for your average morning commute… Little Deviants was released in Japan on Dec. 15, 2011 for the PlayStation Vita. It will be released in North American and PAL territories on Feb. 22, 2012.…
By Richard Eisenbeis Published February 14, 2012 - Kotaku East
Japanese Kids Don’t Walk Much These Days (Video Games Blamed)
According to a Tokyo Metropolitan Board of Education poll, today’s Japanese kids walk 30 percent less than they did 30 years ago. Experts attribute this to video games and other indoor activities. [Yomiuri]
By Brian Ashcraft Published February 14, 2012 - Kotaku East
Man Gets Hello Kitty Haircut To Amuse His Father
When your loved ones are down, you’ll do anything to cheer them up and make them laugh. For 50 year-old Hu Han-yan, getting his father’s spirits up meant one thing: a Hello Kitty haircut. According to Taiwan’s TTV News, the man’s 84 year-old father was feeling ill before the spring festival. Hu, a successful businessman…
By Brian Ashcraft Published February 14, 2012 - Kotaku East
Move Over Romance, It’s Time for the Killers
The Romance of the Three Kingdoms was a Chinese historical fiction novel written in the 14th century, and it wasn’t about romance at all—well not romance as in love. It is a story about the struggles of three kingdoms and their battle for power and dominance over China. The story is full of treachery and…
By Eric Jou Published February 14, 2012 - Kotaku East
The Girls Are Fake. The Sausage Party Is Real.
Today is Valentine’s Day in Japan. The day is slightly different from its American counterpart—2012, more so. Early this morning, gamers lined up so they could spend the day with someone special: their virtual girlfriends. Love Plus is a dating simulator. New Love Plus, released today for the 3DS, is the latest in the series.…
By Brian Ashcraft Published February 14, 2012 -
UncategorizedKyuss: Whitewater
Warning: things are about to get a little personal. This is my favourite song of all time. No, really. It’s my favourite song on my favourite album from my favourite band, ever It’s Kyuss at their best. Epic. Cruisey. Yet also bringing a rolling thunder. If Scott Reeder (bass) and Josh Homme (guitar) died tomorrow,…
By Luke Plunkett Published February 14, 2012 - Uncategorized
Mario Propaganda Keeps Bowser’s Home Fires Burning
Fernando Reza, who floored us last year with his set of Mushroom Kingdom propaganda posters, is back in 2012 with another set, again showing the conflict from the bad guys’ point of view. If you’re interested in picking any of these up, they’re actually available from Fernando’s store, linked below. WW2 PROPAGANDA PRINTS [FRO DESIGN…
By Luke Plunkett Published February 14, 2012 - Uncategorized
This Skyrim Costume Turns Dovahkiin Into DovahCuddle
Legendary Crafts make beards. And helmets. And make them all out of yarn. Crocheted by hand. Their crochet skill is maxed out at 100. This particular offering is based on the trademark appearance of the Dovahkiin from Skyrim, with his horned helmet and braces. The beard, well, that’s user-defined, but if you’re not making giant…
By Luke Plunkett Published February 14, 2012